Pandora`s Ritual: To “Kill My Darlings” On The Brink Of An Individual Existential Revolution

An interview with Wichi, a theatre director and actor, Athens, Greece

Wichi was born in Thessaloniki. They are a director and actor, an honors graduate of the Directing Department of the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece (2023). They also studied at the Drama Schools ‘Athens Conservatoire’ and ‘Iakovos Kampanellis’, as well as in the Department of Agriculture at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. In 2017, they started their research in theatrical clowning and created DOAN – Clown Artivist Group, with which they presented the performance COSMOGONIA – the origins of the world or how the hell it all happened (2023), at the Drama School of the National Theatre of Greece and at Camere D’Aria, Bologna. Through theatrical clowning and chorality, they attempt to explore a state of deep connection with the human and the non-human. They aim to highlight our darkness through humor, to connect us with the core of creation within us, to remind us of our absurdity and of the responsibility we have to create the world we want to live in. They have also directed the performances: The Nightmare Show (2018, Empros Theatre, Riscus Group Theater), Σιωπή | Siope by Edgar Allan Poe (2018, Rabbithole, Riscus Group Theater) and Boston Marriage by David Mamet (2022, Stathmos Theatre, D’Art group) among others. They have collaborated as an assistant director on the productions: Ajax (2021), directed by Simos Kakalas, Athens Epidaurus Festival, and Agamemnon (2024), directed by Rafika Chawishe, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, New York, among others. They have been conducting theatrical clowning workshops since 2017. They are also involved in poetry, writing, sketching, and street photography. Their latest work is the performance PANDORA (2025, Experimental Stage of the National Theatre).

Wichi. Photo Credit by Elina Giounanli.

Ivanka Apostolova Baskar: Why the choice of praxes and the knowledge of clowns and clowning? And how, in what way, does the experience of clowning contribute to your experimental theatrical productions/stage expressions?

Wichi: The way of clowning gives the actors the space to express themselves freely and to exaggerate their actions, their emotions, their reactions, their very existence, in order to communicate all this directly to the audience. It is a universal language with physical materials recognizable by everyone. We can explore things more deeply and meaningfully, as the mask offers a release from the inner critic, the actor becomes potentially everything from the most ridiculous to the wisest person without judgement, without putting a barrier on oneself, on expression, on tone of voice, on volume, on physical exaggeration. We exaggerate in order to communicate more directly and to speak to our primary emotions.

IAB: One of the most impressive performances within the Theatre Showcase of the National Theatre of Athens in 2025, for me, was your show – the theatrical ritual: The Box of Pandora, why this myth set on stage; or, before Pandora and after Pandora, state of action?

W: The story of Pandora is a timeless one. It is the story of Humanity. The “disasters” that come out of Pandora’s jar/box have plagued people since the beginning of time. Disease, Old Age, War, Despair, Death. The purpose is not to revisit all of this and offer “solutions”. No solutions have been found for thousands of years. We offer a pause, a quiet moment to acknowledge this perpetual cycle of destruction and rebirth. And Hope comes as one of the “disasters”, as a means to continue the cycle. We have no choice about what will come, what will find us next, what will happen to us. But we do have a choice in how we deal with it, how we move forward. With resistance, acceptance, freezing, letting go; that is up to us.

IAB: Why an abstract ritual on an experimental stage and context, and way fragmented into 3 parts: pre-history, Pandora, and the unexpected?

W: My core, my thought is a return to the source, to the simplicity of the ritual before it became a spectacle, with natural materials (as much as possible nowadays), a connection with archetypal movements, with things both fluid and at the same time solid. I believe it is a way for the viewer to concentrate, to “remember” something from their childhood, from the way a story was told, but also to connect with something old, something prior to our existence.

Our story could have started from the creation of Pandora, or it could focus on the unexpected suffering that befalls Humankind, but something was missing for me. I chose to include prehistory as a contrast, as a complement to the cycle, the yin-yang. Although it all starts with a battle (Titans versus Gods), we have a great event, the first of Humankind are created and they flourish and progress and learn and evolve. And then comes the punishment (?) Pandora, from a god who hates evolution. But our Pandora is slowly recognizing her human nature, recognizing the uncontrollable, the suffering she will bring to humans, but she is experiencing it with them too, perhaps in a more difficult way because she knows it will come. And in the end it is both a gift and a punishment, because through her people know decay, hunger, despair, but also know that all is necessary as part of the whole, as a birth of evolution, as a way to return to the light.

PANDORA. Photo credit Experimental Stage – Emerging Artists – Horos Theatre.

IAB: In these times of political correctness, cancel culture, and woke culture, what challenge does exaggeration and catharsis through theatrical moving exaggeration(s) present?

W: It is important for us to highlight that this is not a kind of mockery of difference. Thankfully the actors and all the cast are sensitive creatures in this area, quite queer, some on the spectrum, with fluid identities and certainly very vulnerable. The clown can very easily become a caricature and proceed to clichéd actions that offer momentary laughs but invalidate deep human connection. That is where the challenge lies; for the actor to battle with what amuses and delights them and to connect more deeply. The crucial part is for the actor to offer a more honest part of themselves, that at first glance they may be afraid to share because it is not what the audience loves. But in the end, the audience connects with it and sympathizes with it, it is moved and/or amused by it. It’s the same challenge for me too. To “kill my darlings.” And I killed many in the process, wonderful moments of hilarious humor that not only didn’t advance the story, but also created an imbalance to the ritual context.

IAB: Can you tell us something more about the extraordinary masks, costumes, props, set design… that remind of Cycladic art, prehistoric ethno folkloric artifacts, Mediterranean Paleolithic and Neolithic?

W: Konstantinos Chaldaios, who curated the visual of the performance, acted as my other half in this work. His deep knowledge of different cultures, from the various eras of Greek history, as well as Japanese, African, Latin, Arabic, brought a fusion to the masks and costumes. Always in connection with Ioanna Zerva who curated the lighting. The three of us work as one, as it is all absolutely interconnected. I should also point out that the same work was done with Angelos Triantafyllou that brought us an amazing music composition. We had a back and forth collaboration, as on the one hand the moodboard images were a guiding lever for the creation of the music and on the other hand the musical score inspired new scenes.

The setting is simple but solid. A hill of dirt that simulates Gaia’s tit, Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, and the soil from which everything is created and to which everything returns. We wanted the clowns’ masks to be made of a material that wears and changes, slowly revealing their humanity. And so clay was chosen. The masks of the gods, made of wood and coconut, are reminiscent of African and Indian totems, but keep the elements of the gods of Greek mythology; Zeus’ beard, Hermes’ wings, Hephaestus’ face burnt by fire, and Athena’s owl. Only Aphrodite was based on Willendorf’s Aphrodite, one of the most ancient forms of the goddess of beauty. The costumes of the unexpected events are more abstract, because these concepts cannot be personalised, so for those we were influenced by images from dreams, but also by races and cultures more “far away” from us, like Japanese anime. Also Africa and Australia dominate here.

Death was the only concept that I wanted to have human characteristics, and it is also one of the first images I had in my dreams and visions. A really ancient old man who comes in his good old clothes and his childhood bicycle to “take us with him”. And the image is reminiscent of Mexico and Dia de los muertos. That’s what we based it on. Hope, on the other hand, is the most abstract, a body with a head of flowers, that conceals what lies beneath.

PANDORA. Photo credit Experimental Stage – Emerging Artists – Horos Theatre.

IAB: What does Ritual Poetic Clownism represent, and what does it mean?

W: This name will initially be attributed to its godmother, Marisha Triantafyllidou. For some years now, in directing school, but also on the street and in seminars, I have been searching for the expression of the clown. Slapstick, exaggeration and gags were not enough for me. I always needed something more. And then I tried clowning in myths and ancient tragedies. And there I find another piece more ritualistic, quieter and slower. And the clown acts as a contrast and enhances the ritual. Because even the ritual wasn’t enough for me alone. So we make a universe that is soft, ritualistic, archetypal, strange, eternal and timeless. And that’s where these strange creatures have to live. I dare say they are clown-poets trying to become clown-gods for a bit of their existence.

IAB: What are the criteria for a young director to enter the program of the experimental stage of the National Theatre of Athens, Greece?

W: It is difficult to answer this question because the criteria are constantly changing, depending on the agenda of the National Theatre and the artistic director. I think there is a need for new forms, but at the same time a concern for a good artistic result, in the sense of clearly communicating the story, the dramaturgy, the manner and the social goal of each selection.

IAB: What are the conditions for breakthrough and work creation in theaters in Greece, especially for young theater practitioners?

W: The conditions are crazy and varied. On one hand, there’s so much need from artists to perform and experiment. Theatrical groups and theatre scenes are constantly being created, the theatres are full, some more, some less. In other words, the audience needs theatre too. This of course also creates an issue; we have quantity, but we lack quality. Everything happens so fast, shows are put on with one and two months of rehearsals, with discounts in creativity, with convenience, with substitutions, just to get it done. I personally feel that I need time. I was thinking about Pandora for almost a year, then the coordination with the creative team took 3-4 months. And then we went into rehearsals with the actors, which took 9 weeks, and again I feel like we needed to take longer. It’s a big challenge for young directors, we have to learn to work fast, because everything is running, and if you don’t do it, someone else will. I wish we could all get together, slow down and focus a little bit on research as well.

IAB: You come from Thessaloniki. What are the similarities and differences in the creation/production of contemporary theater between Thessaloniki, Athens, and the theaters, stages in the peripheral areas across Greece? Where is the biggest challenge?

W: The truth is that everything is concentrated in Athens. It has more than 200 stages, more than 30 drama schools, the National Theatre is here, the Greek National Opera, most of the major Festivals. Thessaloniki and the provinces are quite abandoned and it’s a vicious cycle, because a person with vision will prefer to stay in Athens where there are many opportunities, instead of creating something new but more limited in another place, because there is no care from the state for it, for theatre and arts to develop and survive in other places. And this is the challenge for us young people, because we have a vision to make art and live in nature, in peace and with love. And it seems we need to create that way ourselves. This is a big dream of mine and I see that there are other people, artists and non-artists alike, who need it and want to contribute. All it takes is for someone to make a start.

PANDORA. Photo credit Experimental Stage – Emerging Artists – Horos Theatre.

IAB: Athens in the dichotomy of perfection with the power of cultural ancient heritage – the perfection of the forever beautiful Acropolis, the Athenian Agora, Hadrian’s Gate, the Olympieion, Hadrian’s Library, and the Roman Forum, against the people on the streets of the city in some neighborhoods where the living decay – drug addicts, prostitutes, debris, and syringes around them, decaying, open festering wounds and death looming over them – How does such a brutal contrast affect and influence you as human and theater artists?

W: It is the most real thing one could say about the city of Athens. I myself live in such a neighbourhood and have lived in various neighbourhoods of Athens, from the most beautiful to the most “depressing.” It is a city full of contrasts. Sometimes you hate it because there are fist fights and burning cars under your window, and other times you love it because you see the most beautiful picture, like people casually dancing in the park or when you take a turn and find yourself looking towards the Acropolis. All of this creates a lot of stress and detachment, but at the same time so much stimulation, so much diversity, which is inevitably expressed in our art. From a simple physical reaction that the brain will register as you walk past a drug addict and wonder how he can stand on his feet while collapsing, how his body works, to the contrast of colours; the grey-black trashed landscape alongside with the green leaves and pink bougainvillea plants hanging from the balconies. There are references in every corner. And you want to talk about them, not in a raw and realistic way, but to shed light to another aspect of them, a more mysterious one, more magical in its misery.

IAB: Do you recognize and see any hope for today’s world under the constant torture of wars and businesses-class chasms of shamelessly rich and unbearably poor people? / What`s the point, what`s the hope, or is there hope?

W: It seems that the gap and differences are huge these days and although there are many people fighting for change, with solidarity and love, it seems as if nothing really changes. But I think that things in many areas are better than they used to be and probably everything is indeed changing, just very slowly. The important thing is that no one can hide anymore, it’s all out in the open, sooner or later we will all be called upon to take a stand. And there is hope there. Hope to act on the side of Human. And that is a personal matter. On the brink of an individual existential revolution. That is where I place my hope.

IAB: Thank you, dear Wichi.

W: Thank you very much, Ivanka, for your inspiring and intriguing questions.

Athens/Skopje 2025